Amid School Funding Crisis, Tennessee Gov. Tackles Tough Issue of Closed Confucius Institutes
No, I'm Not Making This Up
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently tweeted an article about how his administration is taking action to stop Confucius Institutes at the state’s public colleges and universities. The move comes AFTER colleges in the state previously affiliated with Confucius Institutes cut ties with the organization.
Lee’s aggressive action on the issue of Confucius Institutes suggests he has a strong grasp of exactly how to confront the state’s two largest issues: Education and Health Care.
Tennessee consistently ranks near the bottom in the nation in investment in public schools. The state’s funding formula for schools (BEP) is underfunded by at least $1.7 billion and groups such as the Nashville Public Education Foundation and the League of Women Voters are calling for action. Meanwhile, a lawsuit alleging the state inadequately funds public schools is set to go to trial later this year.
Lee is committed to addressing the education crisis, but not by actually investing money in the schools. No, better to sever all ties with Confucius.
Additionally, when it comes to health care, Tennessee has more rural hospital closures per capita than any other state. In fact, WKRN noted:
“Nationwide, we’re experiencing a rural hospital closure crisis, but this is particularly pronounced in the state of Tennessee,” explained National Rural Health Association CEO Alan Morgan.
About a dozen rural hospitals have closed across the Volunteer State since 2010 and more are at risk.
“When you lose a rural hospital, oftentimes the community follows as a result of that,” added Morgan.
Morgan said rural hospitals are closing in Tennessee for a variety of reasons, including a high percentage of Medicaid recipients or uninsured residents who can’t afford a hospital visit.
The closures have left patients in nearly a quarter of the state’s counties without easy access to an emergency room.
Additionally, Tennessee faces a growing challenge with medical debt. The Sycamore Institute reports that 1 in 4 Tennesseans have medical debt on their credit reports. The state is also a national leader in the number of bankruptcies resulting from medical debt.
According to Sycamore, medical debt has a number of negative impacts on Tennesseans, including:
Reduces Use of Needed Medical Care
Increases Debt-Related Stress
Negatively Impacts Credit History
Reduces Ability to Save and Build Wealth
Poorer Physical and Mental Health Outcomes
Less Financial Stability and Security
Lee is aware of this issue, clearly, and understands that rather than accepting funds to expand Medicaid, closing Confucius Institutes that are already closed will actually improve health outcomes.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee
Moving on to the topic of standardized testing, the State of Tennessee has offered some suspect “guidance” to school districts and parents regarding the possibility of opting out of tests this year. Here’s more:
Here’s the key phrase (repeated twice in the letter):
These statutes specifically reference the expectation that all students enrolled in public schools in Tennessee will complete annual assessments.
Note that no sections of Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) or United States Code (USC) are referenced here. Why? Because the codes that require students to take the tests do not exist. There are Tennessee regulations preventing districts from adopting policies regarding opting-out. Violation of such policies is subject to a penalty determined by the Commissioner of Education.
But, the laws on the books regarding students merely “reference the expectation” that students will complete the assessments.
Umm? What?
Did anyone at DOE read this “guidance” before sending it out? Does the staff there assume that Tennessee parents can’t actually read?
Your child “must” take the test because districts aren’t allowed to adopt policies allowing opt-out and because someone who wrote some statutes “expects” that children will complete assessments?
No. Just no.
That’s not how this works.
In other news . . .
After a 45-minute hearing, the House Education Instruction Committee approved the appointment of Laurie Cardoza-Moore to the state Textbook Commission on a voice vote. The opposition voices came exclusively from committee Democrats. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers attempted to steer the conversation about Moore away from comments she’s made publicly regarding slavery and the Islamic religion. MORE>
Peter Greene on North Dakota and the dismantling of public education>
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